Date: 14-15 June 2008

Number of competitors: 55

Number of retirements: 20

Spectators: 258,000

Start given by Jean-Loup Chrétien (spationaut), Mark Brown (astronaut), Vladimir Titor (cosmonaut) from the ISS Orbital Station.

 

Key facts:

2008 marked a battle of the titans: Peugeot and Audi. Each manufacturer fielded three diesel cars. Audi entered three R10 TDIs for Franck Biela, Marco Werner and Emmanuele Pirro (#1); Allan McNish, Rinaldo Capello, Tom Kristensen (#2); Mike Rockenfeller, Lucas Luhr and Alexandre Prémat (#3). To take on the German marque winner every year since 2000 (except Bentley in 2003), Peugeot fielded three 908 HDi FAPs for Nicolas Minassian, Marc Gené and Jacques Villeneuve (#7); Stéphane Sarrazin, Pedro Lamy and Alexander Wurz (#8); Franck Montagny, Ricardo Zonta and Christian Klien (#9). Two Pescarolo 01-Judds were also present on the grid. 

 

Brief overview of the race:

The three Peugeot 908 HDis immediately took the lead followed closely by the Audis. The two giants took turns in the lead according to refuelings for a good part of the race. As night fell, the #7 Peugeot was ahead of the other diesels, all within two laps: #2 Audi, #9 Peugeot, #3 and #1 Audis.

As soon as rain started hitting the track, everything changed. The Audis were more adept and it made all the difference, namely thanks to Tom Kristensen. Even though Peugeot tried to react to the challenging weather conditions by modifying its aerodynamics, at around 5:00 the #2 Audi took the lead a lap ahead. Suddenly, the rain subsided then stopped and the #7 Peugeot caught up to the #2 Audi. Unfortunately for the French marque, less than two hours from the finish the rain returned and the gap increased. In the end, Audi won the race again ahead of the Peugeot in the same lap. The six diesels finished in the top six. Despite the weather, the distance record established in 2006 was beaten by a lap by the #2 Audi and #7 Peugeot. The battle was so fierce that at no point was the gap between the lead Audi and Peugeot more than two laps.

 

Key figures and anecdotes:

- Audi won for the eighth time

- Eighth win out of nine for Tom Kristensen!

- First Porsche victory in LMP2; after a 10-year break from prototypes, the German marque returned with a one-two in the class (private teams)

- Second win for Aston Martin in GT1

- First win for Ferrari in GT2

- Cong Fu Cheng became the first Chinese driver to participate and be ranked, finishing third in LMP2

- F1 world champion at the start: Jacques Villeneuve (1997)

- Audi had six previous winners in its ranks, Peugeot has one (Alexander Wurz)

- First participation for a Spanish marque: Epsilon Euskadi (retirement)

- Stéphane Sarrazin clocked the fastest time at Test Day, clinched pole position and beat the in-race lap record (held since 1971 by Jackie Oliver with a Porsche 917 LH long tail), a first at the 24 Hours! 

- Amanda Stretton became the 50th woman to take the start at the 24 Hours but failed to make it to the checkered flag

- The Escra Award (best technical support) went to the #80 Porsche 911 GT3 (GT2) fielded by Flying Lizard Motorsports

- The Communication Award was given to Jean-Claude Lefebvre (Peugeot Sport communications director)

- The Jean Rondeau Award (best French hopeful) went to Loïc Duval

- The Spirit of Le Mans Trophy was awarded to Yves Courage, local artisan constructor, and Martin Birrane (Lola) who passed away Saturday 8 June 2018

- The Best Rookie Award went to Christian Klien (Peugeot)

- Fastest speed: Peugeot, 350 km/h in qualifying and 343 km/h in the race

 

The winners:

Overall: #2 Audi R10 TDI driven by Tom Kristensen, Allan McNish and Dindo Capello

Distance: 5,192.649 km at an average of 216.300 km/h 

Gap: The second place finisher trailed by 04:34:094 or slightly more than one lap

Best time at Test Day: Stéphane Sarrazin with the Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP in 03:22:222 at an average of 242.628 km/h

Pole position: Stéphane Sarrazin with the Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP in 03:18:513 at an average of 247.160 km/h

Best in-race lap: Stéphane Sarrazin with the Peugeot 908 HDi-FAP in 03:19:394 at an average of 246.068 km/h

Win in LMP2: After a 10-year absence in prototypes, a triumphant return for Porsche with a one-two in LMP2 (private teams) thanks to the #36 RS Spyder shared by Peter Van Merksteijn, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Jos Verstappen (father of active F1 driver Max Verstappen)

Win in LMGT1: Aston Martin (#009 DBR9 driven by Darren Turner, Antonio Garcia and David Brabham)

Win in LMGT2: Ferrari (#82 Ferrari 430 GTC fielded by Risi Competizione driven by Gianmaria Bruni, Mika Salo and Jaime Melo)

 

Source: Infos-Course

 

PHOTO: The Audi R10 TDi giving Tom Kristensen his eighth win!